Ukraine loses its first Challenger 2 tank

The tank, one of 14 supplied to Ukraine by the British in January, was seen in videos online burning by the side of a road in the recently liberated town of Robotyne. 

 Ukrainian personnel pose with a flag on top of a Challenger 2 tank during a training at Bovington Camp, near Wool in southwestern Britain, February 22, 2023. (photo credit: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS)
Ukrainian personnel pose with a flag on top of a Challenger 2 tank during a training at Bovington Camp, near Wool in southwestern Britain, February 22, 2023.
(photo credit: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS)

A Ukrainian Challenger 2 tank was recently destroyed in Zaporizhzhia, according to the Kyiv Post and open-source intelligence source OSINTtechnical. 

The tank, one of 14 supplied to Ukraine by the British in January, was seen in videos online burning by the side of a road in the recently liberated town of Robotyne. 

It was unclear exactly how the tank was destroyed, but analysts at the Kyiv Post suggested that it was targeted by active artillery fire.  The sentiment was shared by OSINTtechnical who suggested that the assault on the tank originated from the 82nd Air Assault Brigade. The 82nd Brigade has been known to be active in the Zaporizhzhia region which was hit by heavy Russian assaults.

 Soldiers of 1 A Squadron, Queens Royal Lancers (QRL) patrolling outside Basra, Iraq onboard a Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank during Operation Telic 4.  (credit: Graeme Main/MOD/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Soldiers of 1 A Squadron, Queens Royal Lancers (QRL) patrolling outside Basra, Iraq onboard a Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank during Operation Telic 4. (credit: Graeme Main/MOD/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Unfortunate timing for the tank's destruction

The apparent first loss of a 69-ton, four-person tank, comes just days after the Ukrainian defense ministry highlighted the tank in a video interview with an 82nd Brigade trooper, according to Forbes.

The tank had been described as “a sniper rifle among tanks” by one of the operators in footage shared by Ukraine's defense ministry.

The operator had gone on to describe how the tank would “undoubtedly set a world record when it hit a T-55 from a distance of more than five kilometers.

“You’re basically just scaring the Russians with the sound of the engine.